Stuck In The Moment
by theshywriterinthecorner
Summary: Max was just as geeky as geeky could get, but when she has a crush on the school goth, what drama shall be made to keep them together?
1. Fang

_**Max's POV**_

"You're drooling." Nudge, my pretentious best friend, very annoyingly remarked as I was staring at my "forever" crush, Nick (Fang). He is this dark, mysterious, silent, goth who has captured me. Meanwhile, I'm over here all dorky, average, and a hot mess.

The bell rang for second period. "Finally, it was like an eternity of doing nothing in Language Arts, once again." I said while Nudge and I are in the hallway.

I continued to stare at Fang from a distance, baffled at his adorableness. Then, the monster came, or better known as Angela, Fang's current girlfriend. She has fiery red hair, sparkling green eyes, and flawless skin. _And _she has her hands wrapped around Fang's waist like she owned him. My mind always filled with annoyance and fury when I saw them together. She could have all of the other guys in the school, why choose the one guy that I liked, maybe even loved? Interrupting my thoughts, the school's jock, Dylan ran into me. Making me dump my books on the floor.

"Why you got so many books, four eyes?" Dylan said in a heavy country accent.

"Because I don't waste the day away by talking to people who don't give a crap." I said, regretting it immediately. Everyone was looking straight at me now, even Fang. I had to get out of there fast, so I started walking away towards my bus. With everyone standing there in shock.

The bus ride home wasn't pleasant. There were so many people, there had to be three to four people in one seat. I was squished between a skinny-as-heck sixth grader and, I'm pretty sure, a twenty-year-old that got sent back too many times and looks like a hobo. But, that's what it's like everyday so I'm kinda used to it. Luckily, no one that had witnessed my little "shoutout" rode my bus. Except Mathew.

Matthew obviously has had a crush on me since middle school and has been following me around like a sad puppy everyday. But, he's sweet so I keep him around. It's _definitely_ not because he's one of my only friends… Anyway, he's been with me and Nudge forever.

_**Fang's POV:**_

I don't think I've ever seen Max that confident. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever heard Max talk in more than a whisper. "So yeah, I think we should break up." Angela said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Hold up, what?" I asked, trying to catch up.

"Um, you never pay attention to me, never go shopping with me, and you space out when I'm talking like just now."

"I just got a lot on my mind right now."

"'Right now'? You are spaced out constantly."

"You know what? I think its time we do take a break."

"Umm, excuse me? _I_ am the drama queen. I make the decisions."

"You know something else? I don't want to deal with your puppy faces and your dramatic scenes, making _me_ look like the bad guy. I'm tired of it. So we aren't just taking a break, we are breaking apart for good." I felt so relieved to say that. But, as soon as I said that, I regretted it. Now everyone was looking at me, thinking I was the bad guy, once again. But this time, I made myself the victim, not Angela. I started walking away as people started booing. I couldn't believe them. Haven't they seen the way she treats me? The constant asking to go shopping, when she knows I don't like it, asking for money, and constantly trying to break up with me and ending up getting back together. I've accepted the fact that she was only trying to use me for popularity. _She only used you, she doesn't love you. _I thought. But, I couldn't help but feel bad. I really didn't need to yell at her. Then, another voice in my head said, _She deserved it the way she treated you. _ After thinking that, I just kept walking.

I found myself in Max's neighborhood. I couldn't help but think I needed to talk to her. So I go up on her porch and ring the doorbell hesitantly. She answered it. I could've sworn Max had glowed more since the last time I saw her. _Wait, I couldn't have possibly have thought that. _I thought as I stared idiotically at Max. She looked at me with a questionable look and said….

_**Max's POV:**_

"What are you doing here?" I asked Fang.

"Um, I don't really know, I just needed to talk to you. Me and Angela broke up-well I dumped her- well I think it was mutual. It all went down pretty quickly. I just wanted to get out of there fast."

"Why did you come _here_ though? Why not one of your friends or anyone else?"

"I felt like you are the only one that really understands me and gets me. The others, well they were just-not like you."

I couldn't help it we were right there. The moment was perfect. I've imagined this moment for as long as I can remember. I quickly leaned in and _hit my_ _nose on his cheek. _I was so afraid of his reaction that I ran inside as fast as I could.

I was laying on my bed playing my worst nightmare over and over in my head when my phone buzzed.

_**I never got to talk to you.**_

_**-Fang**_

I couldn't believe he had my number. I didn't know whether I should respond or to ignore it. He obviously wants to talk but what if he starts talking about the "kiss"? What if he asks why I did it? There are a million possibilities. Which is why I am choosing to respond.

_**Sorry, I kinda freaked out.**_

_**-Max**_

I waited impatiently for him to text back. And he took exactly three minutes and twenty-one seconds. But, it felt like forever.

_**It's alright. I saw it coming…. sort of, not really.**_

_**Yeah, what was that?**_

_**-Fang**_

_**Umm, yeah, there was a fuzzy thing that looked like a spider on your face and I tried to kill it- with my mouth…..**_

_**-Max**_

_**Hmm, I thought I felt something on my face.**_

_**-Fang**_

_**Yeah, it was just a nice gesture. **_

_**-Max**_

_**Ok, so what I wanted to talk about…..**_

_**-Fang**_

_**Yessss?**_

_**-Max**_

_**I don't really know the reasons why I broke up with Angela. I saw you being all cute and confident, and I lost it when she was trying to create a scene.**_

_**-Fang**_

This is what was going on in my head when I saw that: he thinks I'm cute, He thinks I'm cute, HE THINKS I'M CUTE over and over and over. I was hyperventilating. But, what do _I_ put now? I don't know how to respond. Ok, when all else fails, ask a question, I guess…

_**Hmmm, so you are just realizing you needed to break up with her?**_

_**-Max**_

_**No, I knew I needed to a long time ago, I just didn't know how to end it. Every time I brought it up, she would cry and sob and make me look like the bad guy in front of everyone.**_

_**-Fang**_

I wanted to talk to him about how his reputation is more important than his happiness, than my happiness….. then I saw the time and apparently, so did Fang.

_**Alright, so it's midnight, I can't believe it's been that long, I gotta get some sleep. Good Night, Max.**_

_**-Fang**_

_**Good Night, Fang**_

_**-Max**_


	2. The Moment That Never Happened

**I am so sorry I took so long with the next chapter, I've had to deal with school and grades and extra credit and I'm really tired but I shall still go on! I really enjoy writing for you guys and I am so glad that you like it. Special thanks to mah bestie PurpleFlamesAndSevenSense for helping me when I had writer's block. So here is the next chapter. Hope you guys like it! (I know it's not that long but please read it, it would mean a lot to me. thx)**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Max's POV<strong>_

The only thing going through my mind at that moment was: _this isn't happening. This isn't happening. I am in a dream and this is NOT happening at this very moment right now. _

Fang was right there, staring at me as my face reddened from embarrassment. I then realized that he was also standing there, filming the whole thing. I felt a substance covering me as I got up from the floor. Mathew helped me up, attempting to comfort me. Everybody stood there, shocked. Everything leading up to that moment seemed to happen in slow motion.

**Four Hours Earlier….**

**(Fang's POV)**

I've known Max for so long now, yet it still confuses me how I am starting to notice her as a different person. Ever since I saw her confidence that day, I saw a different side of her that I've never seen before. The Max that I've always known was cool but shy and funny but quiet. I've never thought of her as pretty or beautiful. Maybe the hormones are messing with my head….. Maybe with all of the tension from the argument I had with Angela made me see things a little bit differently….. Whatever the reason, I still feel this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. Maybe I should let these feelings go, instead of hiding them.

**(Max's POV)**

I sat on the couch in my living room, thinking about what the texts mean. _Could Fang actually like me? Could the feelings be mutual? How long were these feelings happening?_ These questions ran around my head for a good fifteen minutes. I then decided to approach this in a different way. I was then holding my phone up to my ear, calling Nudge.

"Tell me everything that happened, a-z." Nudge demanded. I explained everything that happened but left some parts out... She had many more questions than I did and it took her a way shorter time to think of them.

_What if he likes you? Where was he before he stopped at your house? Could he have planned the whole thing? Etcetera , etcetera… _

Later on, Nudge was at my house and we were up in my room talking about what I should or shouldn't do next.

"You definitely shouldn't ask him out constantly. He would get annoyed and start slowly walking away." Nudge proclaimed.

"Yeah, but what if he asks me out? I can't just start jumping up and down saying 'Yes! Yes! Yes!', that would definitely make him start walking away." I replied.

"I know. Just say 'I'll take my chances.' and wink at him as you walk away."

"I don't know if I can pull that off. You're the one who usually deals with this kind of stuff."

"It's all in the attitude. You have to have confidence."

"But how am I supposed to get confidence when I have never had any?"

"Think about how you stood up to Angela."

"Yeah, but that was probably just a random burst of confidence. It may never happen again…"

"Well, you never know until you try, right?"

"I guess."

She shoved my shoulder a little bit. "Come on Max, you can do it."

I shoved back. "Fine, I'll ask him on Monday."

"Wait, no. This Friday, I'm having a party at my house. I invited most people from school, including Fang. You could do it then." she suggested.

I considered it for a second before answering. "Sure. I think that'll be easier. Would it be okay if I invited Mathew too? I think he might want to come too."

"Yeah, I guess that would be okay. Just make sure he's not anywhere close to you when you ask Fang out."

"Okay, I just don't want to leave him out."

"That's fine."

But what happened at the party was definitely _not_ fine.


	3. Chapter 3

**.Nudge's POV**

_Okay, I have to plan the party, think of a place to have it, create the invitations, hand them out to people, and set up the decorations before 5 pm on Saturday. _I thought. God, there's so much to do in so little time. I thought I could have the party at Max's place since her mom is usually really cool about things like that. So one thing down, a million others to go.

I was getting lost in my thoughts, once again, and didn't realize that I was crossing the road….IN FRONT OF A CAR.

**Iggy's POV **

I don't know how I got in this mess. I was driving to Gazzy's place to hang out and totally **not** attempt to build gas bombs…

Anyway, I looked down to grab something that fell, and when I looked up, everything went downhill. Literally. I saw my life flash before my eyes. And I imagined that the other person's did too.

**Nudge's POV**

I closed my eyes, afraid of what would happen next. Then, I heard tires skidding on the road pavement. I opened my eyes and the car was gone. Just like that; like it never happened. Once I realized that I was standing in the middle of the street, I stumbled back over to the sidewalk.

I kept thinking about what happened over and over again. Trying to figure out who was in the car. I remember strawberry blond hair, but that couldve been my imagination. Though, maybe it _was_ real. Maybe I hadn't imagined that an angel had saved me.

"...Udge! Earth to Nudge!" Max yelled.

"Sorry I guess I spaced out."

"No kidding, I've been trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes."

"What's up?"

"We need to finish decorating, did you get the invitations?"

_Shit. I've been so busy trying to remember the person that was in the car, that I forgot to print out invitations. _

"Well… you see, what had happened was…"

"You forgot, didn't you?"

"I didn't mean to! Something... happened..."

"_What_ happened?"

"Well, I was on my way back to your place when suddenly there was a car in front of me...and a street underneath my feet…"

"What the hell?! How did you-what did you- please explain this to me before I have a nervous breakdown."

"I got... side-tracked."

"Nudge, what if something happened to you?"

"Nothing did. I'm just lucky enough that the driver swerved away from me before I could react."

"So, is the driver okay?"

_I hadn't thought about if the driver was okay. He saved my life and I didn't make sure he was even alive._

"I don't exactly know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I didn't check to see if he was okay."

"'He'?"

"Yeah…"

"Hmm."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"What was the 'hmm' for?"

"Its just that every time you find a total stranger to crush on, it always ends in disaster."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it doesn't always end well."

"But… Maybe this time, something will end differently."

**Iggy's POV**

"I'm serious, Gazzy. I saw an angel." I said while Gazzy was laughing his ass off at the idea.

"Yeah, right, and on the way here, I saw a leprechaun. There are no such things as angels."

"Well, what did I see?"

"It was probably your imagination. You were about to lose your life."

"I don't think so, and I wasn't about to lose my life, I was about to run someone over."

"Yeah, ok. So, when are we going to start on the stink bomb?"

"Let me check the mail first."

"Anything in the mail?" Gazzy asked.

"Just junk mail." I said as I went through the envelopes. But, there was a golden slip at the bottom of the pile that caught my eye.

"What's this?"

"Probably something for Angel."

I read the slip. It was an invitation. It read:

_Please attend Max's party on the 30th of January. _

_Address: Stacie Court 400 room 221 B_

"Hey Gazzie, check this out."

"What is it?"

"It's an invitation to a party."

Gazzy suddenly had a mischievous look on his face.

Soon, I had the same one.

**Max's POV**

"Of course you need a new outfit, you're hosting the party. Plus, you'd want to show off to Fang." Nudge pleaded.

We got to the store and I reluctantly followed Nudge to the clothes section. We searched for hours. I tried on God knows how many dresses and skirts before Nudge was convinced that she found the perfect outfit. It was a dark purple knee-high dress with glittery leggings. The dress also had a peacock feathered design on the side. Nudge was already running over to the check-out counter, screaming/laughing like a maniac with the outfit in her hand, before I could argue.

"Hi, I'd like to buy this for my socially disabled friend over here." said Nudge, pointing to me.

She held up a finger to my lips before I could protest or say anything about the rude comment.

The cashier at the counter smiled a bit before taking the items placed in front of her, scanning them, then ringing up the bill.

Nudge dug through my pockets and pulled my emergency $50 out of my back pocket and handed it to the cashier, Lindsay (I read her nametag).

Lindsay took the money and handed Nudge the change before she put the outfit in the bag and handed it to me. When we got to the car, I said, "You know, I could've done all of those things myself."

"I know, but I also knew that you would have never gotten that dress without me doing that."

"Ok, well when are you going to pay me my emergency money back?"

"Umm… about that…"

"Nudge, I needed that money. That money was for decorations."

"Then I guess you'll love the surprise waiting for you at home."

"What surprise?" I asked, right when we entered the driveway that looked nothing like my own. There were streamers and glitter and beer pong and I couldn't believe my mom wasn't freaking out.

"Soooooo...?"

"Umm, what the hell happened to my house?"

"I may or may not have dressed it up a little."

"'A little'?"

"Ok, maybe a lot."

"Does my mom agree to this?"

"Well...I sort of gave her a free cruise trip for one weekend."

"You might be the craziest genius I've ever met."

"Thank you?"

"Mhmm. So, when are the people coming to ruin the house?"

"No one's 'coming to ruin the house,' but I only invited everyone at the school."

"Only?! How are all of those people going to fit in my house?! Will I be able to feed them? Will they leave before the party even starts? Oh mah ba-jesus, Nudge!" I started to hyperventilate.

Nudge placed her hands on my shoulders and I thought she would start telling me to take deep breaths. Instead, she grabbed my shoulders and shook them like she was trying to wake me up from a bad dream, saying: "No one is going to ruin the house, your mom is not going to be home, you're going to woo Fang, and everything is going to be fine."

"You know, you keep saying but it's not making me feel any better."

"Yup."

"Wow, that definitely made me feel better."

"This party is going to be awesome."

Strangely, I didn't feel convinced by Nudge's reassurance.

**.Nudge's POV**

_Okay, I have to plan the party, think of a place to have it, create the invitations, hand them out to people, and set up the decorations before 5 pm on Saturday. _I thought. God, there's so much to do in so little time. I thought I could have the party at Max's place since her mom is usually really cool about things like that. So one thing down, a million others to go.

I was getting lost in my thoughts, once again, and didn't realize that I was crossing the road….IN FRONT OF A CAR.

**Iggy's POV **

I don't know how I got in this mess. I was driving to Gazzy's place to hang out and totally **not** attempt to build gas bombs…

Anyway, I looked down to grab something that fell, and when I looked up, everything went downhill. Literally. I saw my life flash before my eyes. And I imagined that the other person's did too.

**Nudge's POV**

I closed my eyes, afraid of what would happen next. Then, I heard tires skidding on the road pavement. I opened my eyes and the car was gone. Just like that; like it never happened. Once I realized that I was standing in the middle of the street, I stumbled back over to the sidewalk.

I kept thinking about what happened over and over again. Trying to figure out who was in the car. I remember strawberry blond hair, but that couldve been my imagination. Though, maybe it _was_ real. Maybe I hadn't imagined that an angel had saved me.

"...Udge! Earth to Nudge!" Max yelled.

"Sorry I guess I spaced out."

"No kidding, I've been trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes."

"What's up?"

"We need to finish decorating, did you get the invitations?"

_Shit. I've been so busy trying to remember the person that was in the car, that I forgot to print out invitations. _

"Well… you see, what had happened was…"

"You forgot, didn't you?"

"I didn't mean to! Something... happened..."

"_What_ happened?"

"Well, I was on my way back to your place when suddenly there was a car in front of me...and a street underneath my feet…"

"What the hell?! How did you-what did you- please explain this to me before I have a nervous breakdown."

"I got... side-tracked."

"Nudge, what if something happened to you?"

"Nothing did. I'm just lucky enough that the driver swerved away from me before I could react."

"So, is the driver okay?"

_I hadn't thought about if the driver was okay. He saved my life and I didn't make sure he was even alive._

"I don't exactly know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I didn't check to see if he was okay."

"'He'?"

"Yeah…"

"Hmm."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"What was the 'hmm' for?"

"Its just that every time you find a total stranger to crush on, it always ends in disaster."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it doesn't always end well."

"But… Maybe this time, something will end differently."

**Iggy's POV**

"I'm serious, Gazzy. I saw an angel." I said while Gazzy was laughing his ass off at the idea.

"Yeah, right, and on the way here, I saw a leprechaun. There are no such things as angels."

"Well, what did I see?"

"It was probably your imagination. You were about to lose your life."

"I don't think so, and I wasn't about to lose my life, I was about to run someone over."

"Yeah, ok. So, when are we going to start on the stink bomb?"

"Let me check the mail first."

"Anything in the mail?" Gazzy asked.

"Just junk mail." I said as I went through the envelopes. But, there was a golden slip at the bottom of the pile that caught my eye.

"What's this?"

"Probably something for Angel."

I read the slip. It was an invitation. It read:

_Please attend Max's party on the 30th of January. _

_Address: Stacie Court 400 room 221 B_

"Hey Gazzie, check this out."

"What is it?"

"It's an invitation to a party."

Gazzy suddenly had a mischievous look on his face.

Soon, I had the same one.

**Max's POV**

"Of course you need a new outfit, you're hosting the party. Plus, you'd want to show off to Fang." Nudge pleaded.

We got to the store and I reluctantly followed Nudge to the clothes section. We searched for hours. I tried on God knows how many dresses and skirts before Nudge was convinced that she found the perfect outfit. It was a dark purple knee-high dress with glittery leggings. The dress also had a peacock feathered design on the side. Nudge was already running over to the check-out counter, screaming/laughing like a maniac with the outfit in her hand, before I could argue.

"Hi, I'd like to buy this for my socially disabled friend over here." said Nudge, pointing to me.

She held up a finger to my lips before I could protest or say anything about the rude comment.

The cashier at the counter smiled a bit before taking the items placed in front of her, scanning them, then ringing up the bill.

Nudge dug through my pockets and pulled my emergency $50 out of my back pocket and handed it to the cashier, Lindsay (I read her nametag).

Lindsay took the money and handed Nudge the change before she put the outfit in the bag and handed it to me. When we got to the car, I said, "You know, I could've done all of those things myself."

"I know, but I also knew that you would have never gotten that dress without me doing that."

"Ok, well when are you going to pay me my emergency money back?"

"Umm… about that…"

"Nudge, I needed that money. That money was for decorations."

"Then I guess you'll love the surprise waiting for you at home."

"What surprise?" I asked, right when we entered the driveway that looked nothing like my own. There were streamers and glitter and beer pong and I couldn't believe my mom wasn't freaking out.

"Soooooo...?"

"Umm, what the hell happened to my house?"

"I may or may not have dressed it up a little."

"'A little'?"

"Ok, maybe a lot."

"Does my mom agree to this?"

"Well...I sort of gave her a free cruise trip for one weekend."

"You might be the craziest genius I've ever met."

"Thank you?"

"Mhmm. So, when are the people coming to ruin the house?"

"No one's 'coming to ruin the house,' but I only invited everyone at the school."

"Only?! How are all of those people going to fit in my house?! Will I be able to feed them? Will they leave before the party even starts? Oh mah ba-jesus, Nudge!" I started to hyperventilate.

Nudge placed her hands on my shoulders and I thought she would start telling me to take deep breaths. Instead, she grabbed my shoulders and shook them like she was trying to wake me up from a bad dream, saying: "No one is going to ruin the house, your mom is not going to be home, you're going to woo Fang, and everything is going to be fine."

"You know, you keep saying but it's not making me feel any better."

"Yup."

"Wow, that definitely made me feel better."

"This party is going to be awesome."

Strangely, I didn't feel convinced by Nudge's reassurance.


End file.
